No increase in Chinese incursions: Army chief

September 19, 2009 12:50 IST

Chief of Army staff General Deepak Kapoor said on Saturday that there has been no increase in Chinese incursions along the Sino-Indian border.

"I would say that the prime minister made a statement yesterday (Friday) itself that there has not been any more incursions. The number of incursions is at the same level as last year so there is no cause of worry," General Kapoor told mediapersons.

"I would request the media to maintain restrain and not outplay the issue," he added. Commenting on the Pakistani infiltration along the Line of Control, General Kapoor said, "There have been ceasefire violations, but we have a mechanism in place where the issue is addressed immediately with a hotline functioning on both sides. Also, border personnel meetings are held where the issue is resolved."

He confirmed that the reports of infiltration along the LoC and international border were correct, but added that Indian forces were well deployed to keep infiltration under check. On Friday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said India had a very long border with China and he had no information about anything serious happening there.

Regarding a media report on Chinese incursions he said the government information system may be faulty and that could be the reason for the media playing up reports of incursions.

The lacunae would be rectified soon, he added.

He also said the Chinese Ambassador Zhang Yan had met National Security Adviser M K Narayanan and had discussions about the situation prevailing along the border.